Stuck Between Worlds
by shulesaddict77
Summary: AU. Emma Swan has seen a lot of strange things in her life. But nothing as strange as this.
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Halloween, everyone!**

**Okay, this is my new CS story! This idea came to me when I read about October being CS Horror Month over on Tumblr and it's October 31 today, so I thought I should give you the first chapter. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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**Chapter 1**

Emma shivered, pulling the jacket closer around her, burying her face in her scarf as she stared out of the bus window. It was two o'clock in the morning and she'd just finished her shift at the 'Pongo', one of the in-clubs in New York. It brought her good money, money she desperately needed but having two jobs was starting to take a toll on her. Especially when she had to commute with the bus between both jobs.

Her bug was in the repair shop. Again! Not that it would be any warmer in there, since the heating system was acting like a diva most of the times anyway. But at least she wouldn't have to put up with the caterwauling of the drunks who were on their way home or to the next party.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the window, a small smile grazing her lips as she imagined what the guys would say when they found out she'd taken the bus home. August would give her a lecture about how dangerous it was for a single woman to drive alone on the bus at this hour and Graham would just look at her disapprovingly, waiting for August to finish before he would just tell her she should have called one of them to pick her up. She liked living with them but sometimes they were acting too much like concerned parents for her liking.

She lifted her head, scanning the crowd tiredly, contemplating what she could eat when she finally got home, wondering if there might be any take-out containers left in the fridge. Probably not. Either August or Graham would have raided the fridge already. She would just end up eating a chocolate bar and falling into bed.

She still stared with heavy eyes at the crowd, not really seeing anything but then a sudden jolt rushed through her, making her sit up ramrod straight in her seat and her eyes searched the crowd frantically. She didn't know what she was searching for. She only knew she needed to find it and then she saw him, her eyes locking with his, her breath stuttering in her throat.

Those eyes!

She had never seen such electric eyes. But it wasn't the color that mesmerized her it was the pain she saw in them. Pain that cut right through her heart, sucking the breath out of her. It was as if he was speaking to her, as if a voice in her head was telling her she needed to talk to him. She couldn't break eye contact and her body started to tingle, her stomach clenched, her heart thudding hard against her rib cage.

He was just staring at her and then the bus came to a stop and he turned around and stepped out. Emma didn't know why she was doing it but she jumped up and sprinted towards the door, slipping through it before it closed behind her. She turned her head left and right, looking for him, her eyes falling on a person walking towards the next corner on her right and somehow she knew it was him. She didn't even hesitate and followed him, trying to keep a big enough distance between them to not catch his attention but not too big so she didn't lose him out of sight.

"Are you completely insane now, Swan?" Emma mumbled under her breath, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket to keep them warm. This was definitely not the best part of town. It was in the middle of the night and she had just jumped out of a bus to follow a complete stranger clad in a leather coat.

She almost stumbled over a root crossing the asphalt as she realized why his eyes had seemed to shine extra bright. He was wearing eyeliner. And a leather coat. Was he on his way to some costume party?

And then she stopped dead in her tracks as he rounded the corner and her eyes fell to the glinting object he was carrying in his left hand. A surprised gasp slipped over her lips as she realized that he wasn't carrying anything. The glinting object was his hand.

A hook? Was he actually wearing a freaking hook? Halloween was long over. Why was he dressed up like Captain Hook? Maybe he was some weirdo who liked to dress up as fictional characters. He probably escaped out of an asylum.

"Terrific, Emma! And you are chasing after him!"

But she kept moving. An odd sensation, deep in her gut, pushing her forward and she was almost running now, rounding the corner and coming to an abrupt halt. The alley was empty. Dead end. She was surrounded by three walls and there was no way that he could have stepped out of it again without her noticing. Her head swiveled around, her eyes narrowing confused.

Where did he go?

Pressing her eyes shut, she pinched her nose, taking in a deep breath. She needed to get a grip. Now she already had hallucinations. Imagining people who weren't really there. She looked around once more but clearly there was no way out of that alley unless he could fly or climb up walls. And since it was very unlikely that he was Superman or Spider-Man she just had to shrug it off as a figment of her imagination. An imagination her overtired brain had come up with to mock her.

Huffing out a breath, she turned around sharply but froze into place as she could feel someone or something brushing her arm, a cold shiver running down her spine. She didn't have to look around to know that nothing was there.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she picked up the speed, almost breaking out into a run as she rushed back to the bus stop, hoping she wouldn't have to wait too long for the next one to arrive. Fortunately she only had to wait ten minutes and when she slumped into the seat she stared one last time at the alley he'd disappeared in, suppressing a shudder.

Fantasy or not. This had been creepy. A whole lot of freaking creepy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows!**

**I know it's been a while but I'm extremely busy lately and the new episodes and spoiler pics keep inspiring my muse to write one-shots. I'm really sorry for the long wait and hope to get updates up more often in the future! **

**I hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2**

The fog was hanging thick over the street as she hurried from the bus stop to their apartment block. Her eyelashes stuck together with the humidity and she whipped her hand impatiently over her face, feeling her fingers trembling.

She walked as fast as she could, cautious not to slip on the icy concrete, letting out a soft sigh as she reached the door, pulling the keys out of her handbag but her fingers were clammy from the cold and the keys slipped through her fingers, clattering loudly on the ground.

"This is like a bad horror movie." Emma hissed, bending down to snatch the keys from the steps. "Get a grip, Swan. No one is gonna come up behind you and strangle you to death."

But suddenly her hair stood up at her neck, her body stiffened and she turned around sharply, almost expecting someone standing behind her but there was no one there. Only the fog illuminated by the yellow light of the street lamp nearby. The street was eerily silent. No sound audible. But suddenly a gust of wind came up out of the blue rustling through the leaves on the ground and Emma almost shrieked, swiveling around and pushing the key into the lock, she yanked the door open, rushing inside, slamming it close behind her.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, the blood pulsing in her ears and she forced herself to draw in calm breaths, lifting her hand to her forehead, brushing away the cold sweat that had formed there.

"God, you need sleep." She let out on a harsh breath, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears.

Turning around slowly, she looked through the glass of the door, a shiver running down her spine as her eyes locked on a shadow just outside the light circle the street lamp was casting. Her heart jumped in her throat, her breath hitching as she stared at the clearly human figure, the fog obscuring their features, making it impossible to recognize the person.

She didn't know how long she was standing frozen to the spot before the person suddenly moved and she could swear she saw a coat flapping around his legs as he turned around and she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, cursing loudly.

Jerking herself out of the stupor, she stormed up the stairs, muttering to herself the whole way, an insane sounding chuckle escaping her as she realized that she was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

Stopping in front of the door of their apartment, she closed her eyes, taking in some deep breaths, closing her hands to fists and relaxing them a few seconds later before opening her eyes again, forcing herself to push the strange occurrences of the night out of her mind. She had just let her imagination run away with her. Nothing else.

~K&E~

"God, August. Don't tell me you forgot to buy the milk again." Graham's annoyed voice reached her ear and a smile tilted up her mouth.

She didn't get much sleep last night. Strange dreams of a man in a leather coat jerking her awake every single time she had slipped into a deeper sleep. She was grateful that the normal morning routine hadn't changed. Like always Graham and August were arguing.

"Letting you do the grocery shopping is a disaster every time!" Graham huffed. "You always come back with unnecessary stuff no one needs and forget to buy those things we do need."

"How about you do the grocery shopping from now on. You seem to know what exactly we need and what not." August shot back.

"We agreed to take turns." Graham gritted out through clenched teeth.

"You two are bickering like an old married couple." Emma interrupted their dispute, leaning against the doorframe. "If I wouldn't know better I would think you are both gay."

"What?" Both their heads swiveled around to her, their voices full of incredulity.

"Good morning." Emma said, hiding a grin as she grabbed a mug and walked over to the coffee pot.

"Morning." Both grumbled, fetching their own coffee mugs before they sat down at the kitchen counter, Graham grabbing the newspaper and August one of his magazines.

"Where is your bug by the way?" Graham looked up from his newspaper, piercing her with one of his scrutinizing gazes.

She sighed inwardly. Of course Graham had searched the street when he'd gone to fetch his newspapers and noticed her bug wasn't anywhere in sight. For a moment she contemplated lying but then she chose to tell the truth. She wouldn't put it beyond them to accompany her later to make sure she'd be safe on her way to her car.

"At the club. Wouldn't start. I took the bus."

"Emma!" Both shouted out simultaneously, making her almost jump from her seat.

"It was the middle of the night." She muttered under her breath, burying her face in the mug.

"Exactly!" August replied.

"Okay, calm down. Both of you." Emma said, looking up to meet their gazes. "I'll call the next time, okay?"

"You better do." Graham said harshly. "I don't want to be called to a scene and finding you strangled and mutilated in a dumpster."

"Okay, that's enough. I don't need you to put gross pictures into my head."

"Just wanted to make sure you remember how dangerous it's out on the streets. Especially for a woman in the dead of night."

"I'm sorry, Graham." Emma told him, reaching over the counter and squeezing his hand. "It won't happen again."

She was glad she didn't mention that she had been chasing a man into a dark alley. Graham would have torn her head off if she would have told him that story.

~K&E~

She had almost forgotten the weird incident when two weeks went by and nothing out of the ordinary happened, writing it off as a figment of her vivid imagination, something her tired brain had come up with. But then she walked over the grocery market, taking her time to choose the right fruits, testing them for their ripeness as her eyes suddenly caught a movement and she turned around, her gaze falling on a person clad in a long leather coat, the sun light blinking shortly on something metal at his left side before he disappeared into the crowd and she was too stunned that when she finally started moving to follow him he was nowhere to be seen anymore.

Two days later she thought she saw him in the parking lot of the supermarket. A day later she could have sworn he saw him walking around a book shelf at the library. A week later she'd caught his figure in the mall. But each time she tried to follow him, tried to catch up to him, he just vanished into thin air.

It was driving her insane, made her question her own sanity in earnest since she kept seeing him. She already contemplated to talk to Graham and August about it as the sightings of him suddenly stopped again.

But then two weeks later she had the odd sense that someone was following her and she rounded a corner, tilting her head slightly to catch whoever was following her out of the corner of her eye and as she noticed the telltale leather coat she picked up her pace, walking into a less crowded area, slipping into an alley, crouching down behind a dumpster, waiting for him to step into the alley.

She was trained in self defense. Graham and August had insisted that she needed to take lessons and she had obeyed, thinking that it couldn't hurt to know how to defend herself if she ever got into a situation where she needed it. The weapon she was carrying in her pocket another thing Graham had convinced her to and she was actually glad about his persistence this time.

She waited for him to walk by her, swiping out one leg and knocking his feet out of under him and he crashed to the ground but she didn't give him time to catch his breath as she stood up and pressed one of her heels against his crotch, pointing the gun down at him.

"Hey buddy, why are you following me?"

He stared at the weapon for a second before he lifted his gaze to her eyes, a smirk pulling up one corner of his mouth as he said calmly. "I'm in need of your assistance."

"My assistance?" She eyed him warily but her inner lie detector didn't shrill and she added. "And for what?"

"May I stand up?" He asked instead of giving her an answer and she hesitated for a moment, asking herself why she had this strange feeling that she could trust him, something about him feeling utterly familiar and she gave him a sharp nod, stepping back, not lowering her weapon though as he stood up and brushed his hand over his pants, bowing slightly, his lilting voice making her wonder where he came from as he spoke.

"Killian Jones is my name. I'm honored to make your acquaintance!"

She only raised an eyebrow, repeating her question, not willing to give him her name before she knew what he was up to. "For what do you need my assistance?"

His eyes suddenly turned cold and her finger tightened around the trigger as he balled his hand into a fist, hissing out in a sharp tone. "Killing Rumplestiltskin!"

"Killing Rumple..." She stopped in the middle of the sentence, loosening her grip on the trigger, her eyes flickering scrutinizingly over his face not detecting any insincerity on his features and stepping back, she lowered her arm, leaning against the opposite wall and then she suddenly burst out into laughter. "That's a good one. Rumplestiltskin, he?" His face changed into an expression of utter bafflement, her reaction seemingly astounding him and her eyes fell to his left hand, her brows furrowing as she saw the hook again, realizing that he still might be a threat even if he was a nutjob. "And you are Captain Hook, I assume?"

"Aye, that I am, lass." He answered her sharply, apparently not amused about her making fun of him.

"And Captain Hook needs my help in killing Rumplestiltskin?" She asked, still hoping it would turn out to be all a joke. Maybe Graham and August had hired an actor to scare the crap out of her and pull a prank on her.

"I need to skin the crocodile." He hissed and she realized that he actually believed what he was saying. Either that or he was a really amazing actor.

"Just out of curiosity ... what did he do that you want to kill him?" Emma asked, wondering how far he would take it.

"He killed my love." Emma actually took a step back, the hate in his voice surprising her. "Ripped her heart out right in front of me and crushed it. She died in my arms."

"We have a legal system to deal with this." Emma replied calmly, realizing that the pain he was showing was too real for it to be only a story he had made up in his delusional mind. She believed he had actually lost someone and the loss had driven him insane. "We are not running around and murdering people. The world would descend into chaos if everyone would take the law into their own hands."

"I will avenge my love's murder!" He snapped, his body rigid, his face contorted in anger, his eyes blazing with hardly suppressed rage.

"You know what? I don't have time for this. I'm sorry that you've lost someone close to your heart. And it has apparently shaken you up quite a bit. But I should probably get you to the police. Let them figure out from which mental institution you've escaped." Emma turned around, looking down the alley, trying to remember where the next police station was, mumbling more to herself than to him. "Captain Hook! Right! They even let you have a hook. That doesn't make sense. They should not encourage you in your delusion. Not to mention they shouldn't give you a weapon instead of a prosthesis like everyone else who lost a limb is wearing. What were they ..." Her voice trailed off when she turned around and stared at the spot he had been standing just a few seconds ago. He wasn't there anymore.

She let her eyes wander over her surroundings, walking slowly up and down the alley, looking behind every dumpster, into every corner, expecting him to hide somewhere, waiting for her to leave but she couldn't find him.

"Where the hell did he go?" Emma muttered, looking around slightly irritated. "He needs to tell me how he does that. This disappearance act could come in handy."

Putting her weapon back into her bag, she took a last look, shrugging her shoulders as the street stayed empty without any sign of him and turning around, she walked briskly back to the main street, wondering if she hoped that she would never see him again or that he would come back.

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**So, … I'm flying pretty blind on this one. I have the 'main' scenes in my head and I know how to end it but the rest is completely in the open. That's just the way I write. I'll just let my muse fill out the blanks. She loves it when I give her free rein. **


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